Dead Can Dance – Photographs from the vault.
Archive photographs have emerged from the earliest days of Dead Can Dance. Brittany-based concert-goer Frédéric Detrézien caught the fledgling Melbourne band in June of 1984. It was a mere four months after their self-titled debut album and a step away from the Garden Of Arcane Delights EP which they’d release in August. Note that while Brendan Perry is not yet bearded, Lisa Gerrard is already sporting her signature hairstyle.
It is believed Peter Ulrich and either Scott Rodger or Paul Erikson also played with the band at that point. (If fans have any insights themselves into the 1984 line-up, your feedback will be most welcome)
The concert took place in Saint-Brandan (not Saint Brendan as it arguably should be renamed) a small commune in the Cotes-d’Armor department of North West France. (Close by Saint Brieuc.) Despite looking like somebody’s front room the venue is actually an old nightclub called La Mèche Bleue (Blue fuse). La Mèche Bleue sadly no longer exists as such. In retrospect it seems an odd location as the town itself only has a population of 2200.
The fact that the main duo of Brendan and Lisa still, to this day, produce fine, enchanting new music, both separately and together is testament to their career longevity. It is also vindication for many of us who backed them, right there, right then in 1984. We knew we had something special on our hands. We were right. Dead Can Dance went on to become true greats of music, spanning alternative rock into African, Middle Eastern, Folk and chant.
Frédéric kindly gave [sic] permission to run the photos which will certainly be of interest to Dead Can Dance fans new and old.
Enjoy this passage in time.
All images courtesy of Frédéric Detrézien.[sic] Magazine thanks Frédéric for the use of his photography.